Building a Linux PVR Part I - MythTV Setup and Install
by Kristopher Kubicki on September 3, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Linux
MythTV
We have gone through all the steps to get our hardware configured. From now on, we are basically software limited, assuring that we have properly configured and set up MythTV and its dependencies. Again, for those playing at home, please check the official MythTV documentation for setting up Myth.The largest issue that most people have with Myth are getting the dependencies correct. We used YAST, which in turn solved many of the dependencies for us. Just a quick refresher on which packages are needed:
qt3
qt3-devel
qt3-mysql
mysql
Some other items, such as XMLTV, Zap2It and lame, cannot be installed via YAST, and have some specific instructions of their own. Read the MythTV page very carefully.
Following the instructions on the Myth website got us up and compiling very quickly. Using the default compiling options, we had MythTV built and installed in a little under 20 minutes.
Now, we only need to run the setup configuration and install our plugins. The setup comes fairly easily once you become accustomed to using a keyboard or the remote control. There are two things that we must do before runnig ./setup. The first is to get mysql up and running, and then insert the Myth database. Myth's website documents this well.
The second thing to do concerns the Zap2it configuration. DataDirect (from Zap2it) downloads our channel listings and information, which is detailed on the MythTV page as well. Without DataDirect, we lose all of our Tivo-like functionality. Make sure to run the mythfilldatabase command before starting MythTV!
Finally, it is time to run ./setup. When we run the command, we are greeted with a simple screen with a few options. As we install plugins, this screen gets more complicated.
Click to enlarge.
The majority of options should be left relatively unchanged, but since Myth is so configurable, we will go over some of the more interesting configuration options before Part II. Once in the initial setup screen, the first option allows us to configure the Myth database server. Remember, the Myth front end has no objections to running on a separate machine that does not have a PVR card at all!
Click to enlarge.
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shiftomnimega - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link
Looking forward to part 2.Brazen - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link
No win32 distribution for MythTV :(skeptic - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link
Try the Knoppmyth distribution. IMHO it is the best and easiest to use. Total install time for me was around 20 minutes and I had previously unsuccessfully fumbled around with mythtv on red hat.My setup uses the Huappauge PVR 350 card which has a whole set of issues when attempting to get the tv-out on the card to work, but man the quality was actually better than on my TIVO. One month after I had it working I called up TIVO and cancelled - it felt so good. I have been running knoppmyth for over 6 months now and its fantastic.
reboos - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link
Thank you for the article.Aquila76 - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link
From Page 2: "Originally, we had scheduled to run all of our testes with the Hauppage WinTV Go card"Let me know how your testes run after that! ;>)
Seriously though, great article. Interesting that there's only a $60 savings (up front) for the Linux PVR over the WinMCE box. Tells you the cost of WinMCE is actually pretty cheap! If only they'd make it available for purchase, but they probably won't because of DMCA or something.
Kishkumen - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link
Nice article. I've been a fan of MythTV for quite some time and have enjoyed experimenting with it. The biggest detriment to my full time usage has been a lack of viable Linux HDTV drivers for my particular card based upon the Teralogic TL880 chipset. However, I look forward to becoming more involved with it as more HDTV capture cards with good Linux support become available.Adul - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link
Kris, nice article. I am glad you wrote it. Now I want to build my own :DResh - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link
It's late. I was about to go to bed when I saw this article. I leapt with glee! After a quick skim, I can't say that I saw any discussion of how SuSE dealt with the TV-Out. Did it work? Were you using TV-out during this whole process. Some explanation in this area would be great, either as an update, or as the opening to Part II.Looking foward to reading it, and the follow-up, in detail.
I love AT! :)